The pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, care centers, laboratories and similar industries and facilities are constantly struggling against contaminations. Hygiene issues are constantly on the agenda and continuously evaluated. One hygiene issue of special significance is the cleaning and sterilization of objects, such as reusable, consumable, and disposable equipment or goods. For example, a pharmaceutical production site may be equipped with steam generators, water pretreatment apparatuses, central sterile services, CPS, systems, CPS discharge systems, component washers, glassware washers, terminal sterilization systems, isolators and sterility testing equipment, simply to clean and sterilize different goods.
Reusable equipment can be surgical equipment such as knives, graspers, clamps, retractors, dialators, probes, scopes, drills, and saws, and laboratory equipment such as bottles, bowls, condensers, funnels, flasks, pipettes and plates, or the like. Any object which is intended to be reused and which can be contaminated with hazardous or biological substances is the subject of stringent hygiene conditions. Whenever reusable equipment has been used, the reusable equipment is sent for cleaning or sterilization.
Any piece of medical, dental, laboratory and/or pharmaceutical goods and/or equipment, which is intended to be used or re-used under the conditions described above, needs to be washed, disinfected and/or sterilized. Further, bio-hazardous material is in some cases also sterilized before being disposed of.
The process of washing, disinfecting and/or sterilizing goods, such as, e.g. medical, dental, laboratory and/or pharmaceutical goods and/or equipment mentioned above, is a highly demanding process in terms of the facilities used, the staff, the process parameters, the apparatuses and even the ambient environment surrounding the apparatuses. All restrictions and conditions serving the purpose to reduce, or eliminate, the risk for contamination makes it difficult and costly to operate such cleaning and sterilization processes.